Hand-cultivator.



l. SHECKLER.

HAND CULTIVATOR.

APPLICATION'HLED nEc.15, 1914.

Patented Apr. 13, 1915.

"www" 1.

WITNESSES THE NOQRIS PEIERS 60,. PHUTo-L/THU.. WASHING?V JOHN SHECKLER, OF WASHINGTON, KANSAS.

HAND-CULTIVATOR.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Apin 13, 1915..

Application filed December 15, 1914. Serial N o. 877,400.

T all whom it may concern Be it known that l, JOHN Srrnonnnn, a

' citizen oi the United States, residing at lllfashington, in the county of Washington, and State oi Kansas, have invented a new and useful Hand-Cultivator, of which the following is a specilication.

The invention relates to improvements in hand cultivators.

The object of the present invention Vis to improve the construction of hand cultivators and to provide a pushing device of light, strong, durable, and comparatively expensive construction, adapted to be readily applied to single wheel garden plows, and similar hand cultivators, seeders, and the like, and capable ol' enabling the operator to throw the weight of his body against the machine, whereby the same may be operated with greater ease and less labor.

A further object of the invention is to provide a pushing device of this character adapted to be readily adjusted independently of the handles of a cultivator to arrange it against dierent portions of the body, and equipped with a cushion, housed within the pushing device, and adapted to relieve the operator of jars and jolts when the cultivator comes in contact with a rock or other obstruction.

With these and other objects in view the invention consists in the construction and novel combination of parts hereinafter fully described, illustrated in the accompanying drawing, and pointed out in the claim hereto appended, it being understood that various changes in .the form, proportion, size and minor details of construction, within the scope of the claim, may be resorted to without departing from the spirit or sacriiicing any of the advantages of the invenlll. Y

In the drawing F igure 1 is a perspective view of a handle cultivator provided with a pushing device constructed in accordance with this invention. Fig. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view of the pushing device detached. Fig. 3 is a transverse sectional view on the line 3-3 oli' Fig. 2.

Like numerals of reference designate corresponding parts in all thegures of the drawing.

ln the accompanying drawing, in which is illustrated the` preferred embodiment of the invention, the pushing device, which is located above and is adjustable independently ol2 the handles l of a hand cultivator, comprises in its construction a tubular rod or stem 2 arranged at an inclination and having its lower or front end flattened and secured between a pair or spaced plates 3 :forming a front fork for straddling the wheel l of the hand cultivator and having downwardly curved front terminals 5 which are mounted upon the axle 6 of the front wheel Ll. The downward curve or" the forks of the push bar is designed to throw the push bar above a seeder or any other machine on which the push bar may be'used. The plates '3, which are angularly bent at their inner portions .7 to space them the proper distance apart, are provided at their lower terminals with bearing `openings 8 for the reception of the axle 6, and the said plates 3 have their lower terminals fitted :against the outer faces of the side bars or members 9 of the plow beam 10 of the hand cultivator. This construction enables the pushing device to be readily applied to various implements such as garden plows, cultivators, seeders, and the like having a single supporting wheel.

The upper rear portion of the tubular stem or rod 2 receives a slidable tube 11 which carries a curved body plate 12, riveted or otherwise secured to laterally extending ears or lugs 13 projecting from the rear end of the tube 1l. The slidable sleeve and the tubular rod or stem receive and form a housing for a coiled cushioning spring le', interposed between the curved body plate 12 and a stop pin or rivet 15, disposed transversely of the rod or stem 2 and piercing the opposite sides thereof. The cushioning spring, which is housed and protected by the telescopic tubular members of the pushing de vice, is adapted to relieve the operator of jolts and jars when the cultivator strikes a stone or other obstruction. The tubular members of the pushing device are limited in their sliding or telescopic action by means of a pin or bolt 16, carried by and piercing the tube 11 and operating in longitudinal slots 17 in the upper and lower walls of the tubular rod or stem 2. rlhe slots 17 are of sutlicient length to permit the necessary relative sliding movement of the tubular members of the pushing device to secure the desired cushioning action of the spring 14:, and the fastening device 16, which operates in Y -the slot 17, is preferably in the form of a Y bolt to enable the ltubular members ,toy be readily separated to afford access tothe Vcushioning spring. The curved body plate, which presents a rear concave face to con form to the configuration of the upper portion; of the body of a person, is provided with a vsoft pad 18 preferably formed by up .Y jholstering'the curved plate, but any other suitable padmay be employed for protect ing the body or the operator.

1n `the operationY offthe cultivator the,

loperator grasps the handles 1 in the usual lmanner and places the pad of the pushing fdeviceagainst Y his chest, the. pushing device Y being adapted'tofswing upwardly and downthesame through' thesoilrand the pushing device willenable the operator to force the cultivatorthrough `the ground with greater ease'` and less labor than is possible by using onlythe plow handles- Also, the housing ofthespring protects the latter and prevents the same from being affected by the weather .or accidentallyb'roken. Y

" what is Claimed is v .class described including a supporting wheel and an axle, of a tubular stem disposed longitudinally of the implement andA provided at its front end with forwardly extending side plates, said platesy being spaced apart to'form a fork to straddle the wheel and having downwardly extending curved terminals mounted onthe said axle, said tubular stem being alsov provided at its upper portion with'a longitudinal slot, a rear tube slidab'le on the rear Vportion of the said stem and having a fastening device operating in the said slot to limit the relative sliding lmovement of the same and the tube, a

padded body plate mounted on and carried by the rear end of thetube, and a coiled spring housed within the stem and the tube and arranged to cushion the latter and the body plate, the pad on the latter covering the entire rear face thereof.

In testimony, that I claim'the foregoing as my own, 1 have hereto affixed my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

` JOHN SHECKLER. Witnesses:

GEO. H. THIELE, THOMAS C. BAKER.

Copileisof/patent may beobtaned for vecents each, by addressing the Gommissioner'of Patents, j Washington, D. C.` 

